By Lilian Rintoul, Books Editor
Food has a range of roles within literature, from plot device to respite. Every author interprets the importance of food to their world differently. Whatever the extent of involvement of food within a book, it is always present, you just need to look for it.
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How can food have significance in books? It’s such a common place activity why would it need to be included at all? Well, food is actually very important to literature, even presenting itself as the premise for many books.
One book comes to mind instantly when talking about food - Alice in Wonderland. The magical ability of food within the realm of Wonderland is crucial to the plot, allowing Alice to grow and shrink to face different challenges, even when it is also the cause of them, the iconic “eat me, drink me” scene and Alice's interaction with the cryptic caterpillar being prime examples of this. Food is further featured in the plot of this novel during the caucus race, when Alice gives the creatures sweets as a prize and their beaks become stuck together. The book climaxes with food also; the knave of hearts trial presents Alice with an opportunity to meet the queen of hearts. During this trial they investigate the rhyme
“The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,
All on a summer day:
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,
And took them quite away!”
as announced by the white rabbit. This encounter is key to the resolution of the book but without food it would not have come to pass.
In many adventure books, food is essential to the beginning of the quest. Often characters meet as a consequence of food, often when stopping in a pub or tavern or when meeting with shared acquaintances, such as Felicity and Sim in The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. The uneaten meal from Miss Havisham’s wedding is present during the introduction of Pip and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. These pivotal points create a premise for adventures and bonds between characters.
Other times, taverns and the like are used as breathers in between scenes of intense action or danger. The characters, and reader, are allowed to reflect on the events and discuss previous experiences. Often lore of the world is discussed so that the reader is able to better understand what has or will happen. This is more common in fantasy books or where the setting is not familiar to the audience.
Another purpose for stopping for food can be to rest and allow the ‘bad guys’ to catch up with the ‘heros’ so that more pressure is added and there is a large escalation in danger, the characters go from being safe and relaxed to being under attack. The rapid abandonment of a setting can also be the reason something is lost or forgotten. This can increase the difficulty of the quest for the characters and make them work harder to achieve their goals. It can also lead to separations within the group as they can fall out over mistakes or flee in opposite directions.
I’ve no doubt that you have at least heard of the Harry Potter series. Within these books, The Great Hall is a vital location inside of Hogwarts. Other than being the place where all characters must meet regularly, many significant events and conversations takes place beneath the fake sky.
During breakfast, the mail is delivered (by owls, naturally). Post such as “Howlers” and parcels from anonymous senders arrive during the first meal of the day. In the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express and
steal Mr Weasley’s flying car. Needless to say, they get into large amounts of trouble, even receiving a “Howler”, a letter that shouts it’s message at you, in front of the whole school, who are all present for breakfast. Another interesting parcel received was Harry’s “nimbus 2000” which arrived along with the mystery of who sent it. Although this is later discovered, it caused quite a commotion across the breakfast table. Food plays more of a role in scenes that only exist in the books; Harry finds his way down to the kitchens where he meets Dobby and another house elf, Winky, who appear several times within the books. Harry discovers who makes all of the food, how they are able to make the food appear on the tables in the Great Hall, and what effect Butterbear has on house elves.
Other books in universes with magic sometimes use food as a source of it. The Uncommoners series, by Jennifer Bell, include items that possess uncommon powers due to them being inhabited by a splinter of a soul. If used to make food, the food behaves in unusual ways such as Mr Punch’s “Hundred Punch” which has one hundred flavours to make you happy and changes every time you take a sip and “Dragon’s Breath” which allows the drinker to breath fire without getting hurt. These incredibly unique food helps to demonstrate the wide abilities that are open to magical items as well as being vital to the plot of the second book.
Overall food has a range of roles within literature, from plot device to respite. Every author interprets the importance of food to their world differently, some place it in the center of their story while others overlook it as a boring, everyday activity, irrelevant to their novel.
Whatever the extent of involvement of food within a book, it is always present, you just need to look for it.
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